An optoelectronic component is designed for converting electrical energy into electromagnetic radiation, such as into visible light, for example, or for the reverse process. Reference may be made in each case to an emitter device or a detector device. One example of an electromagnetic component as an emitter device is a light-emitting device, more particularly, a light-emitting diode (LED). The device typically comprises electrodes with an active zone disposed between them. Via the electrodes, the light-emitting device can be supplied with an electric current which in the active zone is converted into optical energy, i.e., electromagnetic radiation. The optical energy is outcoupled from the light-emitting device via a radiation outcoupling area.
One particular light-emitting device is the organic light-emitting diode (OLED). An OLED has an organic layer in the active layer to convert electrical energy into electromagnetic radiation. When the OLED is contacted, via the electrodes, with a current source, different types of charge carrier are injected into the organic layer. Positive charge carriers, also referred to as holes, migrate from the anode toward the cathode through the organic layer, while electrons migrate through the organic layer from the cathode toward the anode. This gives rise to the formation in the organic layer of states of excitation in the form of electron-hole pairs, known as excitons, which decompose with emission of electromagnetic radiation.
A further example of an optoelectronic component is the detector device, in which optical radiation is converted into an electrical signal or into electrical energy. An example of an optoelectronic component of this kind is a photodetector or a solar cell. A detector device, too, has an active layer disposed between electrodes. The detector device has a radiation entry side, via which electromagnetic radiation—for example, light, infrared radiation, or ultraviolet radiation—enters the detector device and is guided to the active layer. In the active layer, with exposure to the radiation, an exciton is excited, and in an electrical field is divided into an electron and a hole. In this way, an electrical signal or electrical charge is generated and is provided to the electrodes.